Blood supply collection vial and stopper



Jan. 21, 1964 P. w. BQGIKES 3,113,557

BLOOD SUPPLY COLLECTION VIAL AND STOPPER Filed Dec. 16, 1958 5 40 O Y A55 /7 6/ V /8 2 a z I a 2/4 I 2 "A: i 5 i I I x I l I a JCTZ'GP.

/Q 0L 4a BOG/K PTZG. 5T INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,118,557 BLGOD SUPPLY COLLECTION VIAL AND STOPEERPaul W. Bogikes, Rolling Hills, Calif., assignor to CourtlandLaboratories, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California FiledDec. 16, 1958, Ser. No. 780,879 1 Claim. (Cl. 215-47) This inventionrelates to the collection of blood and has particular reference to anevacuated vial and stopper assembly for use in the collection of bloodsamples.

Conventional practices in the collection of blood samples from livesubjects include the use of an evacuated tube or vial closed at one endby a stopper of rubber or other resilient material adapted to be piercedby a cannula or hollow needle which is either directly or indirectly incommunication with a vein of the patient. These stoppers are, ofnecessity, quite small, yet they must be of substantially greaterdiameter than the vials so as to effectively seal the vials against lossof vacuum. Accordingly, the stoppers are difiicult to insert into theopen ends of the vials during production of the finished assemblies, andproduction rates of such articles are somewhat low even when usingautomatic machines to carry out the assembly.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a novelstopper and blood sample collection assembly which is not subject to theabove and other disadvantages of the apparatus of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel blood samplecollection apparatus and more particularly a novel stopper therefor, thestopper being provided with a central protrusion on the upper surfacethereof which greatly facilitates insertion of the stopper into thevial, and which presents a surface which is easier to make and maintainin a sanitary condition than the stoppers heretofore proposed and/ orused.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will bereadily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the novel stopper of thepresent invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on the line 22 ofFIGURE 1, illustrating the manner in which the stopper is introducedinto the vial.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the stoppercompletely inserted into the vial.

FIGURE 4 is a View similar to FIGURE 3, but illus trating a modifiedform of stopper.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus of this invention includesa tube or vial 19, preferably of glass, having a closed bottom end (notshown), the top open end 11 being closed by a stopper 15.

The stopper 15 is made of rubber or rubber-like material of suitablecomposition and has a flanged head portion 17 overlying the end of thevial in the assembled position shown in FIGURE 3. The periphery 18 ofthe head portion is preferably fluted, as shown, to provide a fingergrip for removal of the stopper from the vial. Integral with the headportion is a body portion 21 which extends into the open end of thevial, the diameter of the body portion being somewhat greater than theinside diameter of the vial so that the body portion is undercompression when inserted into the vial as shown. The lower end of thebody portion is bevelled as at 25 to facilitate insertion of the stopperinto the vial and to permit evacuation of the vial in the customarymanner with the stopper lightly resting in the vial. If desired, thelower end of the body portion may be provided with ice a bevel extendingcompletely around the periphery thereof to facilitate fully automaticassembly.

The body portion is provided with a central recess 30 extending upwardlyfrom the bottom surface 31 thereof. The walls of the body portionsurrounding the recess 30 are sufficiently strong to retain the stopperin place in the vial, but the recess limits the thickness of rubberthrough which the cannula (not shown) used in taking the blood samplemust be inserted. This thickness of rubber is represented by the portionbetween the top of the recess 39 and the top surface of the stopper andcomprises a self-sealing diaphragm portion 35.

Extending upwardly from and integral with the head portion 17 is acentral raised portion or protrusion 40 which is preferablyfrusto-conical in shape, having a maximum diameter slightly less thanthe diameter of the body portion 21. The top surface of the raisedportion is provided with a central annular bead 45, which serves merelyas a locator for the proper positioning of the cannula (not shown) usedin collecting the blood sample.

In assembly of the stopper and vial, the stopper is placed in theposition shown in FIGURE 2 and the finger or ram member of thestoppering machine is brought down on the stopper to force it into thevial to the assembled position of FIGURE 3. It has been found throughactual experience in stoppering thousands of vials with the stopper 15and with conventional stoppers having a substantially planar topsurface, that the stoppers of the present invention are much more easilyinserted into the vials than are the conventional stoppers. In fact, thesubstitution of the stoppers of the present invention for the stoppersof conventional shape has resulted in a production increase of more than35 percent. The reasons for this are not entirely understood, but it istheorized that the application of pressure to the raised portion 40, asby the downward force of the ram 50, causes the stopper to elongate,reducing the diameter of the body portion so that it is easier to insertin the mouth of the vial. Release of the pressure allows the rubber ofthe stopper to tend to return to its original dimensions, assuring atight fit in the vial.

The stopper of the present invention is also advantageous in that theraised portion functions to hold the stopper away from the face of anyholder with which it may be incorporated thus preventing the entire topface of the stopper from picking up any blood accidentally deposited onthe holder face. Moreover, the raised portion presents a surface whichis easily wiped clean and from which alcohol or the like readily drains.Thus, the stopper of the present invention can be more readily renderedin a sanitary condition and maintained as such than the conventionalstoppers having recessed top surfaces.

The modified form of stopper illustrated in FIG- URE 4 is generallysimilar to the stopper 15, being provided with a head portion 17a, bodyportion 21a and a raised portion 40a. Here, however, the head portion isprovided with a downwardly extending skirt 61 which is provided by anannular groove 62 extending upwardly from the bottom face of thestopper. As shown in FIG- URE 4, the vial 10a extends upwardly into thegroove 62, the groove being slightly undersized to assure a tight fit.This structure results in improved vacuum retention, providing animproved seal. Additionally, the snug fit between the stopper and thevial, and the excellent frictional gripping action thus provided,prevents accidental withdrawal of the stopper from the blood-filled vialwhen the cannula is pulled out of the stopper.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details set forth, but my invention is ofthe full scope of the appended claim.

I claim: of said raised portion being less than the diameter of In ablood sample collection apparatus, a stopper of said body portion.iiesilientbmgterialk saidhstopper havliriig a solid head 1 laor-References Cited in the file of this patent on, a o y porion aving a $01um ary perip cry 7 Y which is of reduced thickness integral with saidhead 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS portion, said head portion having anannular groove ex- 2,903,274 31112111 13, 1959 tending upwardly from thelower face thereof, the inner FOREIGN PATENTS E ii g f wg the P 4,746Great Britain -r of 1900 ace 0 sm 0 y portion, an a raise portionextending 10 539,391 Great Britain Sept 26, 1941 upwardly from the headportion, the maximum diameter 83,216 Denmark Aug 19, 1957

